As the game progresses, you learn to get used to the number of bridge officer abilities. It's worse in this mission though, since you're scrambling to figure out what all the powers you have are, even if you're used to flying a VA ship. The progression through the game gives you a chance to get used to the powers as you get bigger ships.

As for automating powers, may be able to do the same thing as you can with weapons, i.e. right click the activate icon so it has a green border and will continue to activate after the first use.

BTW - I'm still a Lieutenant in the game with my original ship, so when I ended up running that Ambassador-class Enterprise, the number of crew options floored me. Is there a way to automate some of that (like tell Crewperson A to use their ability every time it comes back available if we're in combat) or have you found that you have just adapted to be able to manage all of that as the game has progressed?

Okay, ran the temporal mission. It was fun, but a few things could make it better (like a gag for Lt Yar). I made it through the maze too fast and luckily went back in to explore a little. What happened to my crew though?..

BTW - I'm still a Lieutenant in the game with my original ship, so when I ended up running that Ambassador-class Enterprise, the number of crew options floored me. Is there a way to automate some of that (like tell Crewperson A to use their ability every time it comes back available if we're in combat) or have you found that you have just adapted to be able to manage all of that as the game has progressed?

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Your crew will use their abilities during battle, but perhaps not as fast as you like. Put the critical ones you need to where you can punch them yourself. I haven't tried the suggestion from SilentP, but will check it out next time.

I need to find someone that calculated all the rotations/cooldowns and got it down to a science. :-)

Ahhh...this is my first time at Defera. Very cool. It's nice to do ground combat without the confusion of my landing party around. Also feels like a real MMO* with other players running around helping each other. I played for about 8 months, then quit, and was daunted by trying to relearn the game, but I think I've got the hang of it again.

*Of course the level of the MMO experience is up to me. I just don't like teaming up with others (except for the red alert), but the random appearance of a real person is very cool.

Once you get good at group-based STF missions, you can easily earn close to 300 Omega Marks, 3000 Dilithium and a nice handful of change in under an hour's time. To earn the same amount on Defera would probably take a full week's worth of effort.

Having said that, STFs can be challenging and difficult and at times frustrating to less experienced players. There are players who will shout at you if you don't know what to do. For someone starting to play STFs for the first time, I suggest first playing STFs with your guild or any friends you have. Have them show you what to do, what not to do. Above all else, do not join public (random) STF groups as you usually get a bunch of inexperienced players who won't know what to do, resulting in failure.

I'v dropped it now though might return to it, what do you get if you have a paid sub? do you think its worth it compared to the F2P model.

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It really depends on how long you think you'll enjoy playing STO. This is the advice I give everyone who ask me this question: For STO, a monthly paid subscription isn't really worth its cost. If you really want to pay, there are two better options.

1) Pay for One Month - It is just a single payment of $15 and in exchange you permanently unlock all Gold Subscriber benefits including larger bank and inventory slots, an account-wide bank shared across all your characters, more bridge officer and ship slots.

2) Pay for Lifetime - Its a huge sum of money, but very well worth it if you know STO is the game that you enjoy so much that you want to play on a regular basis for at least the next 2-3 years. In return you not only get all the Gold Subscriber benefits, you also immediately get ALL Veteran Rewards from the moment you pay Cryptic.

Btw if you choose this option, know that Cryptic routinely offer lifetime subscription at a discounted price twice a year. That's the best time to purchase your lifetime subscription.

Once you get good at group-based STF missions, you can easily earn close to 300 Omega Marks, 3000 Dilithium and a nice handful of change in under an hour's time. To earn the same amount on Defera would probably take a full week's worth of effort.

Having said that, STFs can be challenging and difficult and at times frustrating to less experienced players. There are players who will shout at you if you don't know what to do. For someone starting to play STFs for the first time, I suggest first playing STFs with your guild or any friends you have. Have them show you what to do, what not to do. Above all else, do not join public (random) STF groups as you usually get a bunch of inexperienced players who won't know what to do, resulting in failure.

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There's also the option of Normal STF's, which are not nearly as difficult, and the random groups generally can succeed, and even get the bonuses a lot of the time (though the bonus is what, four marks?). The rewards aren't nearly as good as Elite, but they are still faster than Defera, and you don't even have to talk to your team; as long as you have a clue as to what to do, you can almost always salvage a round with a horrible group by yourself.